First-principles molecular dynamics of liquid cesium and rubidium

Orbital-Free Density Functional Theory: An Attractive Electronic Structure Method for Large-Scale First-Principles Simulations

Kohn-Sham Density Functional Theory (KSDFT) is the most widely used electronic structure method in chemistry, physics, and materials science, with thousands of calculations cited annually. This ubiquity is rooted in the favorable accuracy vs cost balance of KSDFT. Nonetheless, the ambitions and expectations of researchers for use of KSDFT in predictive simulations of large, complicated molecular systems are confronted with an intrinsic computational cost-scaling challenge. Particularly evident in the context of first-principles molecular dynamics, the challenge is the high cost-scaling associated with the computation of the Kohn-Sham orbitals. Orbital-free DFT (OFDFT), as the name suggests, circumvents entirely the explicit use of those orbitals. Without them, the structural and algorithmic complexity of KSDFT simplifies dramatically and near-linear scaling with system size irrespective of system state is achievable. Thus, much larger system sizes and longer simulation time scales (compared to conventional KSDFT) become accessible; hence, new chemical phenomena and new materials can be explored. In this review, we introduce the historical contexts of OFDFT, its theoretical basis, and the challenge of realizing its promise via approximate kinetic energy density functionals (KEDFs). We review recent progress on that challenge for an array of KEDFs, such as one-point, two-point, and machine-learnt, as well as some less explored forms. We emphasize use of exact constraints and the inevitability of design choices. Then, we survey the associated numerical techniques and implemented algorithms specific to OFDFT. We conclude with an illustrative sample of applications to showcase the power of OFDFT in materials science, chemistry, and physics.

Analysis of the electronic structure of liquid rubidium by the methods of ab initio molecular dynamics, linear muffin-tin orbitals and recursion

It is well known that liquid rubidium shows some unusual properties at low densities. The ab initio SIESTA package and the supercell technique within the linear muffin-tin orbital method were used to investigate this phenomenon. Electronic structures of liquid rubidium at different temperatures from the melting point up to the critical point were obtained. The atomic structure for the supercell technique was simulated for a cluster of 4000 atoms by the Schommers method on the basis of experimental structure factors of Rb obtained by Tamura and co-workers at different temperatures (from 373 up to 1973 K). The Kubo-Greenwood formula was applied for the calculations of the melt conductivity. The results obtained indicate that the metal-nonmetal transition in liquid rubidium is not connected to the gap at the Fermi energy in the density of electronic states, but, more likely, with electron localization on some kind of atomic cluster.

Microscopic dynamics in the liquid Li-Na alloy: an ab initio molecular dynamics study

We present results for several structural and dynamical properties of the liquid Li(1-x)Na(x) alloy. The study has been carried out by means of the orbital-free ab initio molecular dynamics method, combined with local ionic pseudopotentials constructed within the same framework. We obtain good agreement with the available experimental data, reproducing accurately, the strong homocoordinating tendencies exhibited by this alloy. The calculated partial dynamic structure factors exhibit clear side peaks whose frequencies, for q<or=0.25 A(-1), correspond to the hydrodynamic sound dispersion of the binary alloy, whereas for larger q values fast and slow sound modes are identified. The mass ratio in this system, m(Na)/m(Li) approximately 3, is the smallest one so far for which the fast mode is observed.

Collective ionic dynamics in the liquid Na-Cs alloy: an ab initio molecular dynamics study

We present results for several structural and dynamical properties of the liquid Na-Cs alloy. The study has been carried out by means of the orbital-free ab initio molecular dynamics method, combined with local ionic pseudopotentials constructed within the same framework. The results show good agreement with the available experimental data, reproducing the homocoordinating tendency exhibited by this alloy.